Barnes’ photo book captures crops’ beauty

From his Mississippi Delta base, for more than 50 years Harris Barnes traveled across the country’s agricultural regions, photographing and writing about those who produce the nation’s crops.

His latest book of photographs, “The Beauty of Southern Agriculture,” is now available, and follows his first very successful collection, “Cotton: A 50-Year Pictoral History.”

From the Carolinas to California, from apples to walnuts, and everything in between, the new 9x12 coffee table book captures the beauty of agriculture in stunning images.

Barnes, a former Farm Press editor, grew up in the highly productive Mississippi Delta, the son of a county Extension agent. After earning a degree in agricultural administration and serving in the Marine Corps, he spent 25 years as the manager of two large Mississippi farming operations.

In the mid-1940s, he began his avocation of agricultural photography, which later became his career.

His photographs have appeared in countless publications and prints adorn business and residential walls across the country.

He has done photography for leading chemical and machinery companies and has traveled extensively on these assignments, accumulating one of the most extensive collections of agricultural photographs in the country.

“Harris is a photographer extraordinaire,” says Ernie Iler, a Georgia farm manager. “He is able to make a field or an individual plant stand out in a photograph, as if it were the greatest ever grown.”

Barnes’ books are available in many bookstores and gift shops, and may be ordered from Harris Barnes Rural Services, 537 School St., Clarksdale MS 38614, or by phone, 662-624-8986.